Familiar
by thedeliverygod
Summary: There was a boy that caught her eye sometimes, though she couldn't explain why. (future fic one-shot, yatori)
1. Chapter 1

There was a boy that caught her eye sometimes, always seated a row behind her and always a couple of seats away from any other student. At first glance, she wasn't sure what exactly grabbed her attention about him. His clothes were always relatively plain, black sweatpants and a white t-shirt with a jacket he always had draped over the back of his chair. His hair seemed like it was jet black; not that unusual in the slightest. But sometimes she swore she caught a hint of violet when the sunlight streamed in on a sunny day.

He never seemed to pay her much attention, a blank stare occupying his expression as he took notes. Though there was a time recently where he had caught her staring and she almost thought she could see a small smirk on his lips as he returned to his notebook when she finally had the bravery to look back up. His eyes had been a beautiful shade of light blue and so intense, she was sure she would have been practically hypnotized if she hadn't looked away when she had.

Strangest of all, no one she talked to really seemed to notice his presence at all. Sure, he had missed quite a few classes, but he was there often enough that she found it odd that she was the only one who had paid much attention to him. Even when she specifically nudged her friend to show that he was there, it was almost like her memory had been erased when Hiyori asked about him again later that day and her friend had absolutely no recollection of that moment in class.

It'd been weeks and her curiosity was driving her crazy. He rose up to sneak out of the back like he always did, but she was just as quick to get up.

"Hey," She called out as she practically chased after him, though he didn't seem to hear her and let the door start swinging closed behind him. Pushing it open and rushing forward to tap him on the shoulder, she repeated loudly, " _Hey_!"

He froze in surprise before turning his head to look at her, catching sight of her exasperated expression which quickly relaxed into a small smile. "Wha-…what's up?" He turned around slowly, blinking and nervous.

Something about his vulnerable expression made a wave of familiarity wash over her. "Do we… do we know each other?" She squinted and took a step closer to him.

He quickly retreated as she moved closer, inhaling and holding his breath before he answered, "N-no, we don't."

"Are you sure?" He hadn't even said much and yet her wall was already coming down and she had no idea why. This didn't make sense.

"Yes." He answered, his tone serious and almost disappointed.

Letting a wave of awkward silence pass, she put on a smile again, "Well, if we don't know each other, then… I'm Hiyori."

"Yato." He stated simply, his eyes darting away.

"Yato." She repeated, the name rolling so naturally off her tongue. Smiling brightly, she continued, "It's nice to meet you. I'll see you in class, okay?"

He started to turn away, mumbling, "Yeah, okay."

He was absent from the next week of class and she found herself staring at his empty seat, chewing on her lip. When he finally did reappear, she moved up to his usual row. "Hi, Yato." She pulled out the seat next to him, "Is it alright if I sit here?"

His eyes were wide in surprise as his head snapped upward at the sound of her voice. "Uh…uh, yeah. Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks." She took a seat and moved a tiny bit forward, turning to him again, "Have you not been feeling well? I've been wondering where you've been."

"Why's that?" He asked back, surprising her as well.

"I, um. I was worried about you." She looked down at the desk, embarrassed.

Yato hesitated before repeating, "…Why?"

"I just…" She swallowed, searching for words as her blush intensified, "I want to get to know you better."

He hummed in response, acknowledging that he had heard what she said but didn't really know how to respond.

Which was fine with her, considering she couldn't believe she would say something like that. ' _I want to get to know you better?'_ She repeated in her head and squirmed in her seat, ' _He must think I'm insane. But why_ am _I so drawn to him?'_

Her eyes flickered to him and he had already fallen into his regular routine, staring at his notebook as he began to scribble notes. In her own shame, she hadn't even realized that the professor had already started the lecture. Hastily flipping through her notebook, she started scrawling down notes as quickly as she could manage.

When class ended, she was still so out of it that she hardly could notice anything other than her own shoes. After a minute or so, she heard a confused voice, "Are you following me?"

"I'm not the one who follows people around, Yato." She immediately retorted as she looked up, but her hands flew up to cover her lips as soon as she finished.

He stared at her in shock, his own lips parted with words that wouldn't come out.

"I—I don't know why… why I would say something like that, I'm sorry." She hesitated and took a step backward, repeating, "I'm so sorry."

Something about him seemed to shatter as he let out the air caught in his throat. "Don't worry about it." He answered as he spun around, immediately starting to walk away again.

Hiyori clutched her forehead, almost on the verge of tears, "What is wrong with me?"

' _Why do I… feel so sad all of a sudden?'_

"Wait." She called out weakly, reaching out her hand before she raced after him, repeating louder, "Wait!" She pulled on the back of his jacket, her voice a mix of frustration and weakness, "I know you. I know I do. So why can't—why can't I remember?"

Yato turned around solemnly and grasped her hands in his, "It's not up to me, Hiyori; it's up to you. I wish I could make you remember, I really do."

She furrowed her brows and looked up at him, "But how do I—"

"I don't know." He gave a small smile, "You never will tell me how you do it. You always get embarrassed."

Hiyori blinked a few times in surprise, lowering her voice, "So this isn't the first time I've forgotten?"

He shook his head, "No, but it's the longest."

"I'm sorry." She swallowed and held on tighter to his hands, "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, it's just—the way things are, unfortunately." He tried to comfort her, giving a small sigh but then perking up as he continued, "But you never really _completely_ forget. You always realize something's missing and you get little bits of memories, like you did a few minutes ago."

She furrowed her brows and repeated, "The way things are?"

"I'm a god." He smirked and locked eyes with her.

Lips parted, she looked over him and questioned to herself, ' _I'm in love with a god?'_ Her cheeks heating up again, she inhaled , ' _Wait._ Love _?'_ Her eyes scanned him over again, this time more slowly, ' _If I'm in love with him then how could I possibly forget?'_

"Humans aren't really supposed to remember interactions with beings from the far shore." He leaned in closer to her, his face just a few mere inches from hers as he added, "But you've always been just a bit different."

She felt the warmth of his breath on her face and suddenly she was overwhelmed by an absolutely amazing smell. ' _I remember this. He smells so nice._ ' Her eyelids closed practically on their own, the scent relaxing her entire body.

"Hiyori…?" He called out in an uncertain tone.

A few flashes of memory were starting to return, but there was something more urgent she had on her mind now. She reached up to cup his cheek and leaned forward to press her lips against his. She kissed him chastely, testing.

He whispered against her, "Do you remember?"

"Not entirely. But I'm starting to." She answered honestly, feeling a little breathless and dizzy from how far and how quickly she was straying out of her usual comfort zones.

"Then I'll let you have your way with me until you do." He smirked again and wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Hiyori groaned before kissing him a little more forcefully, mumbling, "Shut up."

"My pleasure." He answered smugly before returning her kisses, his hand reaching around to play with the ends of her hair.

She felt like she was floating, his scent, taste, and touch filling every part of her. The memories weren't flashes now, they just were there; as if they never left. And everything felt _right_.

When she pulled away, her first question was, "Does Yukine-kun know you've been coming to my class?"

Yato shook himself out of a daze, "Uh, he didn't at first, but he kind of figured it out."

"Well, thank you for at least doing this in a more subtle way this time and not freaking me out." She played with the zipper on his jacket, appreciating all the little details about him.

"Kinda like falling in love all over again, huh?" He leaned down to her and winked.

She thought about responding to his joke, but she lifted her head and looked at him seriously, "I'm sorry, for putting you through this." She let out a little sigh and moved closer to him, snuggling into his chest as she wrapped her arms around his middle, "You make light of it, but I know… that it hurts you."

"Yeah, well, it hurts you, too, you know." He leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes, "You walk around like a zombie when you don't remember us. I don't like seeing you like that, either." He pressed his lips on her neck, just below her ear, "I wouldn't complain if we tied ourselves together."

"I would." Hiyori answered simply and Yato pouted in return. "But," She continued and he automatically perked back up, "I…have considered, maybe, you and Yukine-kun should stay at my apartment a few times a week?" Her voice twinged with uncertainty, "I know you can't stay there on a regular basis because it's vulnerable to ayakashi unlike a shrine, but I think it'd be good for all of us and we can avoid these types of—"

He pushed her back enough to smush his lips against hers excitedly, "Yes! I'd love to! I _told_ you back when you first started college—"

"Yato, I was still living at home that semester and there was no way all three of us were going to fit into my bedroom." She shook her head with a sigh.

"But still, I was _right_ , wasn't I?" He quirked an eyebrow and she sighed again.

"Yes, I suppose so." She admitted in a tired tone.


	2. Chapter 2

**So this was a continuation I was requested to write after I asked for prompts on Tumblr. It's been written for a while, but I never got around to posting it anywhere other than Tumblr till now!  
**

"Are you really sure this is okay, Hiyori?" Yukine stood hesitantly above the futon that she had laid out in her living room, "Yato didn't guilt trip you into this, did he? I know we're all worried, but you don't have to make yourself uncomf—"

She put a finger against his lips to immediately put a stop to his worries, "I want you guys to stay here, Yukine-kun. It was my idea." She withdrew her hand and he still looked at her with a frown.

"Won't we—or more specifically Yato—interrupt your studies?"

"HEY." Yato protested from the other side of the room, giving a slight glare to his hafuri.

Hiyori shook her head, "You act as if I haven't already spent several years learning how to study and deal with Yato at the same time."

Yato's expression deepened into a pout, "Not you, too!"

"I guess that's true…" Yukine trailed off, sitting down on top of the futon, "Still, just tell me if you need us to leave for any reason."

"I don't think that'll happen, but don't worry; I will." She flashed a bright smile before making her way out of the living room, slipping past Yato and into the hallway, "Goodnight!"

Yato started to follow after her before Yukine called out in a threatening tone, "Don't try anything weird."

He raised an eyebrow, commenting back, "Look who's talking."

"Will you let that go? It's been like six years and I'm willing to admit I was an idiot when you first named me, okay?" Yato hummed thoughtfully and Yukine sighed, "So just… behave for once?"

"Alright, I'll try." He shrugged in response and Yukine groaned, pulling his pillow over his head. "Goodnight." He continued in a sing song voice.

"Night." Yukine answered in a muffled voice from underneath the pillow.

"But seriously, don't worry about it." Yato added before wandering into the hallway and into Hiyori's bedroom.

As he closed the door behind him, she asked, "You know I heard that, right?"

Yato winked suggestively, earning a groan from her, but he faltered as he walked closer to her bed, where she was already under the covers, "I don't wanna traumatize my kid, and I know you're even more mortified at the idea of doing anything while he's in the other room. I'm just teasing him."

"You tease him a lot, it's no wonder he gets irritated with you." She commented as he slipped under the covers.

"He does the same shit to me!" He answered automatically, pouting once again, "And you too!"

Her eyebrows raised in surprise before she laughed, admitting, "Maybe we do."

"You definitely do." She let out a squeak as he reached over her middle and pulled her closer to him. He hesitated as he looked down at her, "Uh, you okay?"

"Oh." She blinked, adjusting her position and letting herself start to snuggle into his warmth, "Yeah, I guess it's just been a while."

She felt him nod against her, his chin lightly touching her forehead, "It really has. I've missed being with you like this." He reached up to play with the ends of her hair.

All of her emotions came bubbling up all at once and her eyes started to water, "I'm sorry." She apologized for what she thought was probably the hundredth time, but it never seemed like enough.

Yato pulled away slightly to look at her, "Hiyori? Are you crying?"

"N-no." She struggled to answer with a steady voice and the first tear rolled down her cheek, causing her to change her answer, "Maybe."

"It's okay, don't blame yourself." He reached up to cup the back of her head and pressed a few soft kisses to her forehead, "You're trying your best—we all are."

Another tear dripped down her cheek, "I know, I just… want to do _more_. To make this not happen."

"We're trying." He pressed another kiss against her cheek where the tear had just been before gently kissing her lips, "And we're together right now, so… let's focus on that."

Hiyori let out another small sniffle before taking a breath and answering, "You're right." She returned his kiss briefly, "Thank you. I love you."

He made a small noise, smiling and repeating back sleepily, "Love you too."


End file.
